Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli on Saturday dismissed calls by some for the Republican party to "rebrand" or remake itself in the wake of the 2012 elections and offered an olive branch to supporters of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who announced this week he does not plan to seek the GOP nomination for governor next year. "Many of you have heard me talk about our first principles — principles that our Founding Fathers recognized were a gift to us from God," Mr. Cuccinelli, who is running for governor, said at the Republican Party of Virginia Advance in Virginia Beach,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Powell September 24, 2009 202-248-5084 jpowell@hillsdale.edu Hillsdale College First Principles on First Fridays Lecture: “American Renewal: Is It Too Late To Reclaim Our Principles and Our Country?” Washington, D.C. — Matthew Spalding will deliver this month’s “First Principles on First Fridays” lecture, sponsored by Hillsdale College's Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. It will take place on Friday, October 2, from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. at Ebenezers Coffee House, located at 201 F Street, N.E. Coffee, fruit, and pastries will be served. The lecture topic will be “American...

Right up front, let me state that this column is for ACADEMIC purposes only. According to friends of mine still with our government, because of my last novel, my home phone and computer became the subject of curiosity for at least two of our three-letter agencies. The novel was entitled “America’s Last Days” and dealt with a revolution led by a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former Director of the FBI. Both men felt that the United States of their childhoods, of traditional values, and of true sovereignty, was in a death-spiral from which it...

A few weeks ago, Fred Thompson exited the race for President. In the wake of that decision, the FredHeads and the members of DraftFredThompson.com engaged in a whole lot of soul-searching and vigorous discussion as to what to do next. Fred's candidacy may have come to an end, but our faith in the principles that originally drew us to Fred was as strong as ever. The product of that soul-searching and vigorous discussion is Conservatives for the Advancement of the Reagan Coalition, a new organization formed to advance the key conservative principles articulated by men like Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan...

Fred on the Issues (from www.Fred08.com) National Security The first responsibility of government is to protect the American people, the homeland, and our way of life. Today we face the urgent threat of radical Islamic terrorists. Al Qaeda is committed to attacking us here at home, and wants to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to kill millions. We must never give them that opportunity. We must defeat the terrorists abroad, and that begins in Iraq and Afghanistan—the central fronts in this global war. We must show the world we have the will to fight and win. A weakened America...

Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty recently endorsed fellow Law & Order star Fred Thompson for President of the United States. During a telephone conversation with this writer, Moriarty said: "Whoever does occupy the White House will not overturn Roe v. Wade, nor will he or she put the dictatorial Supreme Court in its place. "However, I will personally vote for Mr. Fred Thompson and help his campaign as best I can, but I don't believe his entrance into this campaign ever carried enough pro-life commitment to do the job that has to be done. In addition, since...

You gotta love a guy who will stand in the middle of Iowa farmland and refuse to pander to the subsidy-hungry ag industry: AKD: What will you do for the farmers of Bremer County? FT: (laughs) AKD: You knew this was coming, right? FT: I would continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I've been looking all over Iowa for a bad steak and I can't find it. Been trying my best. It's not a matter of what I would do for the farmers. Farmers are not looking for a president to hand them something. Farmers want fair treatment...

SoCalPundit.com endorsed Fred Thompson for the Republican nomination not because he was the candidate raising the most money or the candidate with the most name recognition (though in a national election I think he would) but because he is the true conservative candidate in the GOP field. All due respect to Alan Keyes of course. After a shaky start to a late campaign, it looked like Fred was dead in the water. But a Google search for the candidate today reveals some indication that Fred is catching up in Iowa and other early primary states where Fred must make a...

From the Thompson campaign, good ol' voter outreach via cell phone: Dear Friends, Right now, Fred is traveling all over Iowa delivering his consistent conservative message. He needs your help in getting the word out to even more people. On Thursday night and Saturday we're holding national phone banks calling Iowa voters. All you need is your mobile or land line phone and a computer connected to the internet. With Phone for Fred we provide the phone numbers and a script. Simply go to Phone for Fred and select Iowa to get started. Person to person contact will make a...

So I have taken my time in deciding which candidate I will endorse for President of the United States, but with the Iowa Caucuses coming up, it is indeed time for me to put up or shut up. Before I get to the candidate of my choice, it behooves me to discuss briefly a few of the other contenders. There's a lot more below. A whole lot more. Read on . . . First, there is Rudy Giuliani. His attractions are many. He is very smart, very serious and a significantly more disciplined as a candidate for President than he...

As regular VC readers know, I am one of several conspirators who is supporting Fred Thompson's campaign for President. I cannot speak for the others, but my reasons for supporting Thompson include his commitment to federalism, his candor on important issues other candidates would prefer to avoid (e.g. entitlements), and his record on regulatory reform and government oversight over the past thirty years. For National Review's pentultimate issue (the one before they endorsed Mitt Romney), I authored an article making the conservative case for Thompson. For those without subscriptions to the print magazine, here is an excerpt: Sen. Fred Thompson...

Vermont Right to Life is the latest statewide pro-life organization to back Fred Thompson's bid for the Republican nomination for president. Their endorsement follows on the heels of those from state pro-life groups in West Virginia, New York, Wyoming, and Wisconsin. In a statement sent to LifeNews.com, Sharon Toborg, treasurer of the Vermont Right to Life Political Committee, says the endorsement reflects Thompson's consistent pro-life views and his ability to win the nomination and general election. “It is great that so many candidates in the Republican Primary are pro-life and have been strong friends of the pro-life effort," she said....

<p>"...It was an odd time for a dispassionate look at federalist theory. Fifteen people had been killed in one of the worst school shootings in US history. Even the National Rifle Association had scaled back its annual meeting.</p>
<p>But in many ways, it was signature Thompson: a defiant faith in his own judgment, an indifference to political fallout, and a near zealotry about the limits of government. A few days after his hearing, he not only opposed a juvenile-justice overhaul backed by his own party but was one of just three senators to vote against funds for a set of antiviolence programs.</p>

Freddie Thompson hit full height in the 10th grade, some 6 feet, 5 3/4 inches. His buddies called him "Stick." He was a nice-looking kid, played football and basketball, chased girls, horsed around in class, rarely cracked a book. "Basically, just a carefree, underachieving kid," he says today. "Pretty good kid. Never gotten in trouble or anything like that. But didn't care much about my studies." Years ago, he put it a different way in an interview with The Washington Post: "I was interested in two things -- and sports was one of them." He must have had something going...

Three GW law professors have endorsed Republican candidate Fred Thompson's campaign for the presidency, joining the Lawyers for Fred coalition. Professors John Fitzgerald Duffy, Orin Kerr and Michael Abramowicz are members of the Law Professors Committee within the coalition. "Sen. Thompson is proud of his experience working as a federal prosecutor," said Darrel Ng, a spokesperson for the Friends of Fred Thompson campaign. "That's why he decided to form something like that (coalition), because of his background." Ng said that having endorsement groups for presidential candidates is an important part of the campaign process. "In campaigns you try to find...

Here at the Campaign Spot, we've previously wondered if Rush Limbaugh, officially neutral in the GOP presidential primary, prefers one of the candidates and is periodically offering statements that seem to be an endorsement-without-an-official-endorsement. Earlier today, Limbaugh was chuckling and enjoying the following exchange between Fred Thompson and Charlie Rose — an exchange that suggests that Rose is fuzzy on the difference between "principles" and "issues." CHARLIE ROSE: You constantly say in this campaign that you are a conservative. What does that mean today? Is George Bush a conservative? FRED THOMPSON: Well, let`s talk about me. (LAUGHTER) I thought we...

"I just want to give my buddies here a little air time." -- Fred Thompson sounding like Ronald Reagan (after showing a video about Romney and Huckabee that would take the bark off the trees, and being told the others would have time to respond) ... Thompson's video utilized YouTube clips that have been circulating for quite some time on YouTube. Only this time, they are also being broadcast on CNN. My bet is getting this negative information out is a lot better use of his time than merely putting out some puff-piece ...

I'm not entirely thrilled with anybody who's running for president at this point, although some of them have their good points. Right today, I'm just thinking broadly on some of Fred Thompson's good points. That's because he had an interesting confrontation on Fox News earlier today with reporter Chris Wallace, to whom he gave on air criticism of FNC for their coverage of his campaign. He didn't try to intimidate the host with a wagging finger and threatening gestures like Bill Clinton, or send out third party threats and cheap manipulation like Hillary. Instead, he had some specific grievances that...

LADSON, S.C., Nov. 24 — Joe McCormick, a burly man over six feet tall, a World War II-era Mauser rifle at his side, said he was frightened. “Giuliani scares me,” Mr. McCormick said of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “What does a mayor of New York know about guns?” Fred D. Thompson, who was about 30 yards away — just past the “Confederate Cutlery” collection of knives, fingering an M-1 rifle at the Land of Sky Gun Show here Saturday — was more his kind of candidate. Mr....

This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," November 20, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!" LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST CO-HOST: One candidate is seeing some challenges, though, in the polls. And that's Fred Thompson, who was in last place in the latest New Hampshire survey, second place in most national polls. And joining us right now from Washington is Jeri Thompson, the wife of Fred Thompson. Jeri, it's great to see you. JERI...